Monday

Aug 15, 2016 at 5:30 AM

Stark County Sheriff George T. Maier joined other law enforcement officers from across the nation at the White House to discuss progress on Obama's 21st Century Policing Initiatives, released in May 2015.

CANTON Community safety, the importance of social media and getting crime and police data out to the public.

Those were just a few of the topics discussed when Stark County Sheriff George T. Maier met recently with President Barack Obama. Maier was one of dozens of law enforcement officers to provide input on the plan Obama released in March 2015.

The president's task force presented 59 recommendations and 92 action items spelled out in a document entitled "The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing" and the accompanying "Implementation Guide," the sheriff said.

"Our sheriffs certainly play an important role in implementing the recommendations of this plan," Maier said.

Law enforcement has five directives: "Review and update policies, training and data collection on use of force and engage community members and police labor unions in the process; increase transparency of data, policies and procedures; implement all levels of training; examine hiring practices and ways to involve the community in recruiting; and ensure officers have access to the tools they need to keep them safe."

Informing the public

Maier received an email late in June calling him to Washington, D.C., for a six-hour "briefing" discussing law enforcement's progress of implementing the initiatives. It was held July 22 at the White House.

One of those initiatives involves police data and how better to make it available to the public via the media.

"We are working to make our data available to the public in a near real-time scenario," Maier said. "We believe in continuous improvement and this is what we feel we need to improve in our community."

The discussion also touched on law enforcement's use of social media.

Maier pointed out that his office already uses social media, posting announcements and crime information and touting his monthly Coffee-with-a-Cop program.

The program brings together law enforcement officials and officers with the people who live in their respective communities to share a cup of coffee and conversation. These programs are aimed at actively "engaging with our community before there's a crisis," Maier said.

Maier was one of 80 law enforcement officials from across the nation asked to participate and share. As a result, he said, he has returned with "a lot of good information to bring back here to Stark County."

"We're just scratching the surface on social media, but we're going to be fine," he said.

Other areas of focus

The implementation guide addresses the following: Building trust and legitimacy and the constant need to improve; policy and oversight that fits the community each law enforcement agency represents; technology and social media; community policing and crime reduction; officer training and education; and officer wellness and safety.

During the meeting, Obama took time to address the group, Maier said.

Among his comments, Obama told the crowd of law enforcement officials: "Over the last four or five years, we've seen violent crime rates that we haven't seen since the 1960s. That's not an accident. That's in part because police departments around the country have gotten really smart about preventing crime and are working with communities in all kinds of smart ways. And we can build on that progress, but it's going to require us to do exactly what you are doing today, and that is trying to figure out how we can work together to ensure that our police departments and our communities are aligned in what we all want, which is families that are safe, people abiding by the law, making sure that our kids are growing up in an environment where they can go to school and get an education and get a job and raise families of their own without fearing that somehow they're going to be struck down by a bullet, or harassed and peddled drugs to by somebody intent on breaking the law."

The president said that he hoped, with the meeting, which was the fourth in a series of such gatherings since June, "We also are hopefully hearing from you about what you've learned in your experience works and doesn't work, and where the federal government can partner with your departments and state and local law enforcement officers across the country to do even better."

The sheriff, who is also a board member with Coming Together Stark County, said the president "is very supportive of law enforcement and he wants to see us be successful in our communities and develop ways that we can do that."

Maier said Obama's plan "is not a one-size-fits-all. These are 'best practices' aimed at improving relationships. We are more guardians of the community than warriors. We are there to protect our communities.

"We make sure what we do is build trust and legitimacy with the community that we serve. Basically, we are the first line of defense in our communities."

Reach Lori at 330-580-8309 or lori.monsewicz@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @lmonsewiczREP

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